Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: criminal investigation

Showing posts with label criminal investigation. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Montgomery County Public Schools' review of employee histories reveals criminal violations

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — 7News presses Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for answers after a recent review of employee histories reveals criminal violations.

We reached out to MCPS to learn more about the cases. The school system confirmed recent screenings flagged 22 employees...

...We talked to a former MCPS student and parent who is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider.

She said MCPS is putting its students in danger.

"My response is a deep sense of disappointment and outrage. What this means is MCPS is failing in its most basic duty to help create safe environments for our children," Jennifer Gross said.

MCPS blamed the background check backlog on the previous administration and said it rescreened more than 10,000 employees between September and December of 2025...

https://wjla.com/news/local/story/montgomery-county-public-schools-mcps-background-checks-criminal-violations-employee-screening-child-protective-services-safety-concerns-maryland-education-issues-backlog-policy-fbi-rapback

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Investigation Prompts Leave for Two Maryland Transportation Directors

The top transportation directors in Maryland’s largest school district are now on leave pending a criminal investigation by local police.

Todd Watkins, director of the transportation department at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), and assistant director Charles Ewald were placed on leave after the district reported “allegations of possible financial improprieties,” according to an official statement released by the school system.

“We take these allegations very seriously, and as a result, we immediately contacted the police to investigate,” the statement said. “We are not able to share additional details while the investigation is proceeding.”..

https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/10156263/investigation-prompts-leave-for-two-maryland-transportation-directors?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011